‘Frasier’ ran for 11 seasons on NBC

NEED TO KNOW

• Jane Leeves said Frasier concealed her first pregnancy while Daphne Moon and Niles Crane began dating
• Writers instead gave Daphne a weight-gain storyline that sent her to a camp
• David Hyde Pierce said he had never considered having Niles and Daphne become parents sooner

Jane Leeves and David Hyde Pierce spent years playing Daphne Moon and Niles Crane on Frasier, with their characters’ relationship becoming one of the sitcom’s central storylines.

However, there was one behind-the-scenes decision involving Leeves’ character that the actress still wishes had played out differently.

In a recent interview with The Guardian, Leeves, 65, recalled the way the show addressed her first pregnancy, admitting, “The only thing I wish had been handled differently was the hiding of my first pregnancy. But those were different times.”

Leeves became pregnant with her first child, Isabella, ahead of season 8, while Frasier was exploring the newly formed relationship between Daphne and Niles. Yet, rather than incorporating her pregnancy into the story, the show concealed her changing appearance and later built a storyline around Daphne gaining weight and attending a so-called “fat camp.” 

While her character was at the weight-loss spa, Leeves went on maternity leave, and when she returned, she revealed she lost “9 lbs. and 12 oz.” — the weight of her real-life baby.

Looking back, Leeves told the outlet there was another possibility the writers could have considered, particularly given where Daphne and Niles’ relationship stood at the time.

“Daphne and Niles had just got together. I came back and I was pregnant — and they probably thought it was too early for Daphne to be pregnant and they wanted to explore this relationship. But then again, it might have been interesting if she was!” Leeves suggested.

The idea immediately caught Pierce’s attention, offering an entirely different direction for Niles and Daphne after years of romantic tension. Niles had spent much of the series secretly in love with Daphne before the two finally became a couple, giving their relationship a long buildup before they had to navigate life together.

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The possibility is particularly interesting because Frasier ultimately spent considerable time letting Niles and Daphne establish their relationship rather than immediately turning them into parents.

During their interview, Pierce told The Guardian that Leeves’ alternative storyline had never actually occurred to him.

“I’ve never thought of that, Jane, that’s interesting, so off the rails: the idea that we see them run off together at the end of a season and when they come back they’re having a baby,” the 67-year-old actor mused.

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